Sustainability transition pathways in the building sector: Energy-efficient building in Freiburg (Germany)

Fastenrath, Sebastian; Braun, Boris

doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2016.09.004

Cited by 36 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…An increasing number of contributors highlight the importance of co-creating knowledge and cooperation between actors from public and private sectors, community and academia to initiate transformative change in urban contexts [21,30,31]. However, we agree with Smeds and Acuto [32], who point out that cities cannot 'save the planet' alone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Urban Resilience in Action: the Resilient Melbourne Strategy as Transformative Urban Innovation Policy?

2019

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More and more cities are developing strategies and implementing actions to increase their resilience to a diversity of environmental, social and economic challenges. International networks such as 100 Resilient Cities, established by the Rockefeller Foundation, are supporting cities to find and implement solutions to 'shocks and stresses.' This new approach to urban governance, often initiated by philanthropic organizations, is debated. On the one hand, these initiatives are celebrated as catalysts for transformational change through 'collaboration' and 'co-design' in contexts such as mobility, energy, green space or housing. On the other hand, urban resilience initiatives have been criticized for prioritizing private sector agendas and top-down approaches and hollowing out public sector tasks and democratic participation. However, little is known how urban resilience strategies are actually implemented in practice. Embedded action research on the implementation of the Resilient Melbourne strategy provides the opportunity to have a closer look at this highly contested topic. This paper provides first insights into the research project Urban Resilience in Action, using the Resilient Melbourne strategy to assess the implementation of selected actions. It shows that a reconceptualization and new analytical dimensions are needed to understand urban resilience as an urban innovation strategy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Urban Resilience in Action: the Resilient Melbourne Strategy as Transformative Urban Innovation Policy?

2019

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“…So too in the field of energy efficiency, German cities experimenting with energy efficiency, renewable energy, and a smaller carbon footprint have not been able to find a sweet spot in their interactions with the central government. These localities need to balance a bottom-up, entrepreneurial culture of individual designers and architects with standardized top-down planning from regional and federal government experts who set laws and require national compliance (Fastenrath and Braun 2017). The Chinese central government must regularly renegotiate national environmental enforcement protocols and laws with thousands of regional and local governments with varying degrees of economic development and environmental pollutants (Shi et al 2013).…”

Section: Literature On Intergovernmental Coordination During Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges to Coordination: Understanding Intergovernmental Friction During Disasters

Aldrich

2019

Int J Disaster Risk Sci

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While idealized crisis response involves smooth coordination between relevant actors, friction between levels of government and between the state and civil society in responding to catastrophe may be more common. This article builds a theory of cross-level friction during and after crisis by analyzing the conditions when discord is most likely. With a medium-N dataset (N = 18) of disaster responses from, among other countries, Chile, Haiti, Japan, North America, the Philippines, and Somalia, I carry out quantitative and qualitative analysis of cases with a variety of levels of friction to investigate the conditions that lead to misalignment. Tobit regression, qualitative comparative analysis, and case studies that take into account levels of economic development, government structure, nongovernmental organization density, and levels of damage demonstrate that low levels of development, lower levels of economic costs from the crisis, and poor planning and logistical infrastructure correlate with a higher likelihood of friction between disaster response stakeholders. Although not definitive, these findings come with theoretical and practical implications as climate change makes extreme weather events and future disasters more likely and more powerful.

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“…Transitions in the sustainability context are progressively understood as highly embedded processes in specific socio-spatial contexts of places, regions, or cities [11]. Urban case studies demonstrate how context-specific pathways of institutions, economic practices, political mechanisms, and driving and hindering actors influence the dynamics of sustainability transitions [21]. New technologies, lifestyles, economic practices, or policies can occur as a result of these processes [11].…”

Section: Sustainability Transitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Truffer and Coenen [13] (p. 15) refer to examples showing that "cities and regions can become powerful promoters of sustainability transitions when understood as relationally embedded actors and providing crucial resources for successful innovation processes". During the last few years, scholars have demonstrated empirical research on how pioneering innovative socio-economic practices are driving environmental technologies [19][20][21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lost in Transition? Directions for an Economic Geography of Urban Sustainability Transitions

Fastenrath

Braun

2018

Sustainability

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Socio-technical transitions towards more sustainable modes of production and consumption are receiving increasing attention in the academic world and also from political and economic decision-makers. There is increasing demand for resource-efficient technologies and institutional innovations, particularly at the city level. However, it is widely unclear how processes of change evolve and develop and how they are embedded in different socio-spatial contexts. While numerous scholars have contributed to the vibrant research field around sustainability transitions, the geographical expertise largely has been ignored. The lack of knowledge about the role of spatial contexts, learning processes, and the co-evolution of technological, economical, and socio-political processes has been prominently addressed. Bridging approaches from Transition Studies and perspectives of Economic Geography, the paper presents conceptual ideas for an evolutionary and relational understanding of urban sustainability transitions. The paper introduces new perspectives on sustainability transitions towards a better understanding of socio-spatial contexts.

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Sustainability transition pathways in the building sector: Energy-efficient building in Freiburg (Germany)

Cited by 36 publications

References 33 publications

Urban Resilience in Action: the Resilient Melbourne Strategy as Transformative Urban Innovation Policy?

Urban Resilience in Action: the Resilient Melbourne Strategy as Transformative Urban Innovation Policy?

Challenges to Coordination: Understanding Intergovernmental Friction During Disasters

Lost in Transition? Directions for an Economic Geography of Urban Sustainability Transitions

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